Heart of Gold
by cheesecakelover110
Summary: Falling for someone isn't simple, especially when there's two "someone"s. In Danny's case, one of those two is an erratic, competitive hero with wings who initially wants to steal his show and bump him out of the ghost hunting business. The other is a fun, almost perfect girl with unspoken truths lurking beneath her light facade. Indefinite hiatus.
1. Combat Boots

**A/N: And so begins yet another story! Haha! **

**I really should not be doing this; I have, like, five other fanfictions I'm writing, not to mention my actual book and homework. But the idea came to me, and now I can't help it!**

**So. Here is Chaptah 1.**

**Please R&R!**

He grinned at his creation. She was perfect: beautiful, strong, clever, kind; the perfect match for the young boy. There was absolutely no way that he could resist her.

And that would be his ultimate destruction.

**{DANNY}**

"Tucker! Thermos, Please!" Tucker threw me the thermos, which I caught easily and aimed at Skulker. "Say goodnight!"

The large, metallic ghost was sucked in screaming. I dusted my hands off. Another day, another ghost caught; Amity Park was safe. For now.

I flew down to Tucker. "Okay. Last one, right?"

Tucker nodded, looking up at me with hopeful aqua-green eyes through large black glasses. "Totally. Nasty Burger to go/ videogame time?"

I grinned. "Nasty Burger to go/ video game time."

I scooped Tucker up, made us both invisible, and sped to the Nasty Burger. I then hid us behind the building, made sure no one was around, and changed back into my human form, letting go of Tucker. We both grinned at each other and ran inside.

The line was short, thank God, considering that it was a Friday. Tucker sat at our usual booth while I took my place in front of the counter, ordering two Super-Meaty-Cheeseburgers with everything on them, extra-large Chile fries, and an extra-large cup of plain Cola (for Tucker) and a normal cheeseburger, large fries, and a large cup of vanilla Coke (for me). I waited at the counter until our order was ready.

On my way back, I tripped over nothing (stupid clumsiness) and went flying, and not in a good way. And then something amazing happened: I did not crash into Tucker's over-sized Nasty meal.

Someone caught the tray before it hit the ground, and I, in turn, stumbled on my legs, my stomach not hitting the ground, as well. The person that had caught the tray's hands were touching mine.

I looked up and…whoa.

The girl was small, skinny, and fair-skinned, with hair black as night, amethyst-violet eyes, and small, lady-like hands. She wore a black tank top that cut off at her midriff and had a large purple skull on the front, black fingerless gloves, black nail polish, purple lipstick, a choker, a black skirt that almost reached her knees, a chain-belt, purple leggings, and huge, black combat boots that I was sure did not fit her.

Basically, she was probably the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.

I stood, taking the tray. "Oh….um…..uh…th-thanks," I stammered, my knees feeling funny. I forced myself to keep my pants _up_. Talking to a hottie like Paulina was one thing. But talking to a _beautiful_ girl? Somehow, it was different.

She looked at me curiously. "No problem," she replied, almost absent-mindedly. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Sam, by the way."

I smiled. She was actually talking to me! And she hadn't even called me a loser yet! "Danny," I said, shaking her hand.

"So, Danny, you gonna promise not to fall on your food in the next five minutes, 'cause I have places to be." Sam raised an eyebrow, which I just now noticed was pierced.

I chuckled. "Yeah. Again, thanks." She started to leave. I irrationally panicked. "Wait a minute!"

"What?"

"Um, do you want to sit with Tucker and I?" I asked, my palms clammy, and my knees getting quivery. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…._

"Oh. Sure."

_Haha, YES!_

Sam sat next to me, leaving me in between her and Tucker. Tucker glared at me. "Hey, I thought that we were getting our food _to go._" Then he took a look at Sam, and his attitude immediately changed. However, I could see that glint in his eye. _Oh no you don't, Tucker_.

I whispered to him, "Hey. I saw her first."

He whispered back, "Yeah, well, I have a better chance."

Ooh. That was a low blow. "Yeah, well, she said yes to _me_. Come on, Tuck, please?" I gave him my notorious pout. He glared at me some more.

"Fine."

I smiled, lifted his red beret, and gave him a noogie on the head in thanks.

Sam cleared her throat. "So, Danny," she began, "I'm new here in Amity. Would you mind showing me around?"

Immediately, I nodded. "Sure! Where would you want to go first?"

Sam thought for a second before answering. "Isn't the fair in town?"

I gave her a curious look. "What does the fair have to do with Amity Park? It's no different from any other fair, and it only comes twice a year."

Sam smiled in such a cute way, I'm pretty sure that my heart stopped. "Yeah, but don't people say that it's one of the most romantic places? I was hoping that we could go there as a sort of a…."

"A date?"

"Yeah. A date." Sam blushed and smiled even more. I was pretty sure that I was doing the same.

"Uh, yeah! Sure! I'd love to go on a date with you!"

Sam popped her knuckles in such a way that it seemed like the replacement for a girly squeal. "Great!"

"_A bone shatters, fall apart and hit the floor,_

_If it doesn't thrill you, it doesn't matter anymore_

_Bones shatter, maybe don't go out this time…_"

Sam's blush deepened as she pulled out her phone, holding up a finger. "Yeah, Dad? Oh, yeah. I just met a _friend_." She stressed the word "friend" so much that I figured her dad did not approve of the words "date" or "boyfriend".

"Uh-huh. I'll be right there." Sam flipped the phone closed and smiled at me. "I've gotta go. My dad's waiting. So, tomorrow evening, pick me up at seven."

"Actually, I don't have my license yet," I admitted shamefully.

"Oh. That's cool, then. I can drive. And don't bring any money. The whole thing is my treat. I'll pick you up at….six?"

"Six," I agreed.

"Okay, then, six. See ya then, Danny." Sam leaned over and kissed my cheek, jogging out of the Nasty Burger.

"Whoa," Tucker said, his eyes trailing after her. "You really scored this time, dude."

I nodded. "All she's missing is a passion for fighting ghosts, and it's a done deal. Of course, that would also make her my enemy, and it'd be Valerie all over again, but yeah."

We finished our meals, deciding to skip on the video games, and headed home. I flew Tucker to his house within minutes. I was about to go to my house when my ghost sense went off. Crap.

I turned around and found Technus laughing his incredibly nasal and annoying laugh. I took off after him, until something flew by me.

I stopped and found…an, um, angel?

No, seriously. An angel. With wings and everything.

She stopped and studied me as I studied her. She looked familiar, though I couldn't place my finger on why. She had skin as pale as the moon that glowed slightly, glowing golden eyes that studied me from a gold-and-white mask that stopped at the bridge of her nose, shoulder-length platinum-blonde hair that was almost as white as mine, and huge, white, feathery wings that sprouted from her back.

And, yet again, I had come across an incredibly beautiful girl.

She didn't have a halo, but she did wear a knee-length white dress with sleeves that cut across her shoulders and revealed golden straps. With the dress, she wore golden fingerless gloves and golden combat boots.

I was seriously starting to like combat boots.

_Wait, _I reminded myself, _she could be bad. Desiree was beautiful, too, but that didn't mean that was automatically good. And Spectra. Especially Spectra._

But then again, neither of them had been an angel. And I didn't have the bad feeling about her that I had about Spectra and Desiree.

So…who was she?

I didn't find out soon enough, because she bolted after Technus, who was getting away. I did likewise, flying just as fast as her. She stopped again, and shouted, "Hey! This one's mine!"

I yelled back, "You're new in town, aren't you? Here's the deal! I'm Danny Phantom! I protect Amity Park from lame ghosts like that! Go back to heaven or something!"

"I'm not _from_ heaven! And it's my job to protect anyone from anything evil! So back off and let me handle this!"

Before I could utter another word, she held out her hand, which began to glow. Technus was sucked back until she gripped him by the dirty white lab coat. She then brought her heel up and kicked him in the head, sending him falling and crashing into the pavement below. I flew down, just watching in amazement.

She then held him by the Albert-Einstein cop-off hair-cut and got close to his face. "Leave this town alone, and I'll spare your afterlife. If not, the only thing that you'll be ruling is non-existence and pain. And believe me, the two can co-exist." With that, she pressed her first two fingers on his forehead and twisted them. Technus disappeared with a flash of golden light.

Man, that's hot.

She turned to me. "Sorry, buddy, but your time's done. It's my duty to keep the world safe from evil. You can relax from now on."

"Actually, no. It's my duty and responsibility to keep the world safe from evil. I'm the one that caused the ghosts to get out in the first place. My mess, my responsibility." I glared at her. Beautiful? Yes. But she was really starting to piss me off.

"Danny Phantom, is it? Look. I'm Lizzy Angel. You're a sweet guy for wanting to protect the Earth from your mistakes and all, but I. Have. Got. This. Covered. It's not just my job; it's my destiny. I don't want anyone, especially a cute guy like you, to get hurt while I'm doing my job."

I raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. I've been at this for two years. What makes you think I'd get hurt?"

Lizzy smirked. "Getting in my way means getting hurt. I don't hold back just because someone's in front of the enemy. I attack until my opponent goes down. That's probably not the way that you roll, so I'll forgive you for asking stupid questions."

"They weren't stupid, they were ignorant. Meaning I don't have a freaking clue who the heck you are."

She saluted me with her first two fingers, the smirk still there. "Again, the name's Lizzy Angel. You can take a good, long break, Danny Phantom. I'm gonna be here for quite a while," she warned as she flew off. I wanted to go after her, but the clock-tower chimed twelve times. Aw, crap. I was out past my curfew.

After getting a chew-out from my parents, I lay down on my bed, too tired to even change into my pajamas.

Well, I had met two incredibly beautiful girls today, both wearing combat boots and fingerless gloves.

There was a difference between the two, though.

Sam wasn't an angel, but it seemed as if she were from heaven.

Lizzy _was_ an angel, and she was _not_ from heaven.

The things that I do for love. And combat boots.

**So. Just because:**

** Questions that may or may not be answered time!**

** Will Danny's date with Sam go smoothly?**

** What will he do if Lizzy Angel beats him at his own game again?**

** Is there something going on between Lizzy and Danny?**

** Will Sam figure out Danny's secret?**

** And, hehe, a teaser for y'all…..does Sam have a secret of her own?**

** Please review! Or I might give up on this story forever. Honestly, that's what happens. **

** Danny: She's not kidding. For my sake, do not review.**

** Sam: For everyone's sake, don't review.**

** Tucker: I don't know. I think they should review. It's a cool story.**

** Sam and Danny: TUCKER!**

** Tucker: What? It's not like **_**my **_**life is on the line. Besides. She told me she'd get me a girlfriend.**

** Danny: *facepalm* She's baiting you, dude!**

** Tucker: I don't care. REVIEW, EVERYBODY! REVIEW!**

** Me: Yes, review, please. ^_^ And quit being chickens, Sam and Danny. It's not like one of you dies….in the next chapter. **

** All three: WHAT?!**


	2. The Fair

**Hey! Thanks to everyone that reads this crap and reviews! I love every single one of you. You guys make me want to glomp the entire Earth.**

**Disclaimer: This is the part that sucks, because I must admit, yet again, that I do not own Danny Phantom.**

**Danny: And thank God that she doesn't.**

**Shut up, Danny!**

**So. Next Chaptah!**

**{DANNY}**

"Danny! There's a girl here to see you!"

Holy crap. I needed to get down there before my parents ruined everything.

I ran down the stairs and past my dad, almost bumping into Sam. She was dressed differently, this time wearing a black dress with fishnet sleeves and stockings instead of a shirt and skirt with purple leggings. Her chain-belt, fingerless gloves, choker, black nail polish, purple lipstick, and combat boots remained.

"Bye Mom! Bye, Dad! I'll see you guys before midnight!" I yelled behind me, grabbing my coat on my way out.

Sam smiled. "Your parents are nice. Are you close to them?"

I raised an eyebrow. There were many words to describe my parents, but "nice" wasn't one of them. "Um, kind of. I mean, I do all of my dad's chores, and my mom likes to pinch my face, if that's what you mean by close."

Sam laughed. "Sounds nice. Now hop in." I looked from her to her car. It was a hearse. A nice one.

She slid into the front seat while I hopped into the passenger's.

I asked her, "Are you close to _your_ parents?"

Sam shrugged. "I've never met my mom. My dad likes to control every aspect of my life, though. And he calls me Samantha." She glared into space at the name, and then turned to me. "No offense, Danny, but if you ever call me by that name I'm going to have to kill you."

I nodded. "Okay, then. But in return, if you call me Daniel, I'll have to tie you down and force you to listen to the history of the name. Is that a deal?"

"Deal," Sam agreed with a laugh. Then she started the hearse, and we were on our way to the fair.

**{*/*\*}**

The first thing that we came across at the fair was one of those addictive games that you can almost win, but victory is just out of reach.

Immediately, I stopped and pulled a dollar out of my pocket.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

I grinned at her. "Getting you a purple gorilla."

"First of all, I said not to bring any money. Second of all, these are impossible to win."

"Are you sure about that?" I boasted. Normally, I would epically fail. But now that I had ghost powers, it would be a breeze.

And yeah, I know, it was irresponsible of me to use my ghost powers to impress a girl. But Sam was about as perfect as perfect could get; she was worth it.

"One dollar equals one ball. You have to knock down all three bottles to win," the guy at the stand said. He smirked at me like he knew that I couldn't do it.

I focused my sight- which had been enhanced ever since the accident- on the center of the stacked glass bottles. I took my aim carefully and pitched.

All three bottles knocked over. I cheered silently and snatched the medium-sized purple gorilla doll from behind the guy, whose mouth was hanging open.

I smirked at him. "Guess I got lucky," I teased. His face turned red.

Sam laughed in amazement. "That was pretty impressive," she remarked. I handed her the doll.

She held it with one arm and used the other to wrap around my neck, kissing me on the cheek. "Thanks. Gorillas actually happen to be my favorite animal."

"Wow. Really?"

"Uh-huh. And now they'll stay that way." She stated, smiling at me.

As we walked around, our hands eventually twined.

The sun began to set. The fair was starting to close for the day. In a normal town, the fair would stay open. But. Because this was Amity Park, they made everything close when the sun set because of all the ghosts that came around at night.

"Do you want to go home?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "But it looks like we don't have a choice."

Sam and I sighed simultaneously. Then Sam perked up and pointed behind me. I turned around.

"The Ferris Wheel's open for one last ride," she pointed out, smiling hopefully.

I smiled back. "We'd better run, then."

We made it there just in time. The operator hurried us to our seats. We go the last seats available.

While we were halfway up, Sam rested her head on my shoulder. In return, I rested my arm around her shoulders. We sat that way for most of the ride, watching the sky turn pink, then gold, then black.

"Why do you like gorillas so much?" I asked out of nowhere.

"They're magnificent creatures. All animals are, but gorillas come out as my number one. They're so gentle and free and intelligent, and if need be, strong." Sam answered. "What's _your_ favorite animal?"

"I'm not sure. For some reason, I keep coming back to monkeys."

Sam laughed. "Monkeys? Why?"

I shrugged. "They pop up in my head at the most random moments. And they tend to be in the best movies."

Sam was about to say something when she faltered. At the same time, my ghost sense went off. I disguised the mist by covering my mouth with my hand and pretending that I was yawning.

My eyes flicked everywhere. Where was the ghost? And how the heck was I going to trap it without Sam noticing?

Then, extremely luckily for me, I heard Sam snore lightly. She must've been exhausted from walking around so much. I turned invisible and intangible, doing likewise for Sam, and flew us off of the wheel. I rested her on a vacated bouncy house and changed into my ghost form, flying up in the air to get a better view and find the ghost that had set off my ghost sense.

And then I heard the telltale call.

"BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

I rolled my eyes. Him. Again.

I turned around and flew at him, knocking him into the cement.

"Look, dude, I'm kind of on a date here. Could you lay off for, I don't know, _the rest of eternity?" _I asked, punching him in the nose. I pulled out my thermos, but the fat, blue man was sucked away before I could activate it.

I turned around and found Lizzy Angel there, smirking at him while gripping the front of his overalls.

"Beware!" she mimicked, twisting her fingers on his head. Just like Technus had, the Box Ghost disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Hey! That's my line! And I totally had him!" I protested.

"Yeah. And I totally told you to lay off. I appreciate the help, but I can fly solo." Lizzy folded her arms across her chest.

"You could've at least left the mimicking to me," I grumbled.

"No can do, sir."

She began to fly off, but I shouted, "Wait! Hold on!"

"What?" She turned around.

"What's wrong with working together? You, know, as a team? Apparently, it's your destiny to fight evil, and it's my responsibility. We're equally matched in fighting skill. We could protect Amity Park as a team." I flew up to her so that I wouldn't have to talk so loudly.

She looked me up and down. "And you say that we're equally matched because…?"

I gave her a deadpan stare. "Have you saved the world twenty-four times?"

"No," she admitted. "But can you fly two hundred fifty miles per hour?"

"Yes, I can. Can you lift five school buses with one arm?"

"No. I can't." She glared at the ground.

I smirked and held out my hand. "Partners?"

She looked up at me with continually startling golden eyes. She spit on her glove and shook my hand. "Partners. When do we go on patrol?"

I thought before answering. "Every night, seven to eight p.m. Is that a good time?"

"Why so late? You're not free all day?"

I glared at her. "My business is my business. My question was if that's a good time for you."

"It's fine," she agreed. "We start tomorrow. Got it?"

"Got it."

Lizzy then flew closer to me. I was wondering what she was doing when she punched me on the arm, _hard. _

"Ow! What was that for?!" I asked, rubbing my arm.

"You're cute," she explained.

"How does that give you an excuse to dislocate my shoulder?!" I snarled, pissed off.

"Most girls squeal over cute guys. I have a tendency to punch them. It's a Lizzy thing."

I glared at her for what seemed like the billionth time. I wanted to punch her back, but we were partners now, and besides that, she was a girl. Still, strangely, a part of me was flattered that I was cute enough for her to punch.

"Yeah, well, you're pretty, but you don't see me sticking gum in your hair," I countered.

"That's because it's not a Danny thing. It's a Lizzy thing." Lizzy shrugged. "I'll see you later. I have to be somewhere." With that, she waved at me and took off.

I popped my shoulder back into place before going back to the fair, where Sam was waking up, confused. Uh-oh.

I changed back into my human form and sat next to her.

**{SAM}**

Okay, two questions. Why did Danny leave when I fake-fell asleep, and why was he just now coming back, with nothing to show for it?

Amity Park may be the weirdest place I've been yet….

**{DANNY}**

"What happened?" Sam asked. "Why are we in a bouncy house?"

I thought quickly. "You passed out, so as soon as we reached the bottom, I asked the operator to let us off. He did, and then he continued the ride. I was going to go to the hearse and drive- I have my learner's permit- but I decided against it. Come on," I said, sliding off of the bouncy house and offering my hand. "Your dad's probably wondering where you are."

Sam took my hand and we made our way to the hearse. When we got to Fenton works, she walked me to the porch- untraditional, I know, but logical- and smiled. I took her hands in mine. They felt nice: warm, soft, and delicate.

"So," she asked, "Do you want to try this again sometime? Because I honestly had a great time."

I nodded. "Of course. That is, if you feel like putting up with my idiotic self."

Sam laughed. "It's not idiocy, it's goofy and cute. So of course I can put up with it. Where do you want to go next?"

"Ladies pick."

Sam thought carefully again. "The movies? There's a new flick coming out. Dead Teacher Eight. Do you like that series?"

I grinned. Yup. Sam was perfect. "Heck yeah! I_ love_ that series!"

"Great! So I'll pick you up…"

"Actually, this time I do the honors. My driving test is this Wednesday, so I might be able to drive by myself by Friday. And I'm paying for the tickets, popcorn, soda, and candy. Sound good?"

"Well, I don't want you to go through any trouble…" Sam bit her lip.

I laughed. "You might as well forget that. My _life_ is trouble. I'm paying, driving, and taking any heat that we might get for anything. No exceptions."

"Fine. Pick me up at seven." Sam agreed with a sweet smile.

"Seven it is." I leaned down and kissed her cheek, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

She blushed, reached up to tousle my hair, and waved while jogging to the hearse. "See you then, Danny!"

As she drove away, I suddenly remembered that seven was when I was supposed to patrol with Lizzy. Crap. She was going to kill me.

I waited until the hearse was out of sight, and then I went ghost, flying around at breakneck speeds, looking for any sign at the strange angel-girl.

We zoomed past each other, coming to a stop, turning around, and flying back toward each other.

We both started to talk, but it was at the same time. I didn't catch what she was saying.

"Okay. You first," I said after we both stopped talking.

She shook her head. "You first."

"Okay. On Friday, we'll have to go on patrol at, like, ten or something." I considered future dates with Sam, and then altered my words. "Actually, every weekend we need to go on patrol at ten instead of seven. Is that cool?"

Thankfully, Lizzy didn't dislocate my shoulder again, instead nodding. "That's great. I just needed to say that Friday at seven isn't the best time, but that's covered, thank God. But the whole weekend thing is genius. I made a deal with another ghost, and I forgot about it while we were talking."

I grinned in relief. "Okay. So seven to eight Monday through Thursday, and ten to eleven Friday through Sunday. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

We shook hands and sped away in opposite directions.

As I landed in my room, I pumped my fist in a silent cheer. My date went smoothly- well, smoothly for a date between me and a girl that I've never met before- and Lizzy hadn't beaten the crap out of me for flaking on her.

For once, my life was beginning to look up.

Or so I thought.

**Don't worry, this story will get dramatic towards the ending. Cliffhangers, mysteries, and twists galore!**

**So, I believe that the next chapter will consist of Danny's driving test. It may not, but that's where my brain is leading.**

**Tucker: What about my girlfriend?**

**Me: Oh, she's coming Tuck. She's coming very soon. Very, very soon.**

**Please Review! I'd love to hear how you liked or did not like this story, or your theories.**

**Well, that, and I'm a review addict. ^_^**


	3. Driver's License

**So, here comes Chapter three! Woo!**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I do own Lizzy Angel, though, because she is spec-freaking-tacular.**

** And now….**

**DANNY'S DRIVING TEST.**

***cue Jaws theme***

**Danny: Hey! I'm not that bad of a driver!**

**Oh, really? I beg to differ.**

I slid into the front car door and buckled my seatbelt, my hands already slick with sweat. The instructor sat in the passenger's seat, taking one glance at me, and muttering, "And right when I can't pay for insurance….."

All that did was make me more nervous. I put my hands on the ten o' clock and two o' clock sides of the steering wheel, reaching one up to adjust the rearview mirror.

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat.

"You can begin now." The instructor said with a roll of his eyes.

I put the car into reverse, backing out of the driveway, and shifted it into drive, going at a steady pace into the street, where I sped up slightly. I was doing good.

And then, at the worst possible moment, my ghost sense went off. I automatically covered my mouth with my right hand.

The instructor gave me a disapproving look. "Hands on the wheel."

"Right," I mumbled, preoccupied. In the rearview mirror, you wouldn't guess who I saw.

Lizzy.

Chasing an ectopus.

I muttered under my breath, "I will kill her for this, bring her back as a zombie, and kill her _again_."

And then, guess what happens next? It's not enough that Lizzy was chasing down the ghost during my driving test and distracting me (especially since I knew that she could take the barely harmful enemy down within seconds; she was having fun with it). Oh, no. There had to be a freaking _scythe _that appeared in her hands. And then more ghosts. Most of them much more threatening.

The instructor did a double-take out of the window.

"Okay, Mr. Fenton, your test is done for today."

I would have totally let him out, but I knew that if I did, he wouldn't be able to run fast enough on his short, paunchy legs.

Why do adults have to be so _old_?

Instead, I glanced behind us. Lizzy was grinning and slashing at the ghosts, and they were shooting back. Some of them shot at us. I did my best to dodge every ecto-plasmic ray that was aimed at the car.

The instructor held on tightly to his seat, turning pale and shaking. I couldn't blame him. I mean, his life was in the hands of a ruthless teenaged female supernatural being and, seemingly, a self-conscious, clumsy teenaged male human with the last name Fenton. I mean, the self-conscious, clumsy, teenage, male, and Fenton part weren't the seeming part. The human part was. At least half-so.

_Jeez, Lizzy, _I thought, _would you mind showing a poor pathetic human a little bit of compassion?!_

Of course, with all of those other powers, she couldn't read minds. I gritted my teeth as another ray shot at the tire. I swerved to dodge it, and then made what would probably be the sharpest turn of my life. The instructor tried to keep his lunch in his stomach as the wheels screeched, and we sped past Lizzy and the other ghosts back to the parking lot.

When we came to a full rest, I already knew that I'd failed my test. I'd have to drive Sam with my dad supervising. Terrific.

"Um, sorry about the crazy driving. I, uh, have to use the bathroom," I lied, running back into the building.

Yeah, he was totally puking. I winced at the sound as I entered the doors, bolting into the men's restroom, and going ghost.

I flew out of the ceiling and made a stop a little ways from Lizzy, who was grinning a wide, wide grin, slashing at ghosts everywhere with her scythe and twisting her fingers on their foreheads. One by one, they disappeared in a flash of light.

I shouted, "Don't you have better things to do?" My voice distracted Lizzy, and as soon as she looked away from the ghosts, one smacked her in the face and sent her crashing into the pavement, making a Lizzy-shaped crater in it.

The ghosts all went for her at once, curling their tentacles, hands, and various other limbs around her limp body and wings. Crap. She was unconscious.

I sped toward her as the ghost began to throw her, snatching her away from them. "Hey. It's not polite to hit a girl." I thought for a second, and then revised my sentence. "Or throw her across town."

The ghosts glanced at me, and then advanced toward me with incredible speed.

I was faster.

With one arm I held Lizzy, and with the other I shot ecto-plasmic rays from my fingers like a gun, freezing them afterward. The ghosts that actually got close enough to hit me were quickly kicked down and frozen.

Finally, they all were on the ground, completely stuck in their own personal ice cubes. I gently laid Lizzy down on the ground and sucked all of the ghosts into the Fenton Thermos.

I then glanced at Lizzy, knowing that I couldn't leave her out here, so vulnerable. So I scooped her up, trying not to touch her wings- which honestly, besides them looking so delicate, also seemed too beautiful to mess up somehow- and flying her to the only safe haven that I knew of: inside Amity Park's clock tower.

I put her inside and laid her down on a platform. It struck me suddenly how small she was, with her wings folded. She looked like a golden-white bird, curled up. She looked less intimidating, too. Less daunting. Maybe it was because her face was so peaceful, or maybe it was her folded wings, or maybe it was just my imagination. I didn't know.

I left her there, hoping she'd be alright. Not that I was so eager for her to wake up and pull my hair out or something, but we were partners, for one thing. For another, I couldn't help but worry. I worry about everyone that I consider even close to a friend. It's a stupid habit of mine.

So I flew back to Driver's Ed and turned back into a human in the men's restroom.

I walked out and bumped into my instructor.

I sighed, not meeting his eyes, "I failed, didn't I?"

To my surprise, he laughed. "Failed?! You saved my life! Of course you're getting your license!" The short, pudgy man gave me a hug. I pushed him away as politely as I could.

"Thanks!" I said, grinning. Now all that I had to do was convince my parents to lend me some money, and I was all set for Sam's and my date.

***\ * / ***

About an hour later, I sat at home, grinning at my new license. The picture was as bad as any picture of me is (somehow, I was blinking _and _about to sneeze), but still. I was officially allowed to drive on my own!

I called up Tucker to break the good news.

"Hey, Tuck! You'll never guess what."

"Danny! Before you go on, I have something I need to ask you. I was just about to call you."

"What's up?"

"Well, you see, I met this girl. She agreed to go out on a double-date with me."

I already saw where Tucker was going with this. "That's great, Tuck! Congrats! I'll ask Sam if she wants to come. When is it?"

"Actually, you can't ask Sam."

"Why not?"

"Well…because….I, uh, _kinda _told her that I knew Danny Phantom."

My smile fell. "You _what_?!"

"I know, I know! I'm sorry! But do you think that you know a girl besides Sam that you can bring?"

"Why can't I just come alone?"

"Well, she seems really interested in you, but _I'm_ the one that asked her out, so if she sees you with another girl….."

"Oh." I stopped glaring at what would be Tucker's face if he were here right then. Sometimes, being famous can make you feel unbelievably guilty. "Okay. That's cool, Tuck. I can find someone."

Tucker breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, man. You're the best. Now, what were you gonna say?"

"Oh. I got my driver's license." The excitement had worn off.

"Awesome, dude! Now all that you need is a car!"

"Thanks, man. When's the double-date?"

"Next Sunday at seven-o-clock. We're going to the Nasty Burger."

My eyes widened. I couldn't do seven. It wasn't a weekend. Lizzy would kill me for sure.

Unless….

No. She'd double-kill me.

But she did say that I was cute.

I said to Tucker, "I might have a girl in mind already. I'll see you later?"

"Later, dude."

Tuck hung up, and I went ghost again, flying out of my ceiling and on to the clock tower.

***\ * /***

Lizzy, who wasn't in the clock tower but circling over the Nasty Burger, turned to me when I approached.

"Hey. What the heck was that back there? I had those guys!"

"Oh." I had almost forgotten that it was my fault that she'd gotten knocked out in the first place. "Sorry. You were just interrupting something. I didn't mean to distract you."

She blew her bangs out of her face for a second, still glaring at me, and then rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So why're you here? You're an hour early for patrol."

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Would you…that is, I wanted to ask…..um….." My face burned. Dang it. Stupid fear of rejection.

He next thing that I knew, the breath was knocked right out of me. I glowered at Lizzy, who was now behind me. She'd slapped my back, between my shoulder blades.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"I was trying to help you spit it out."

"Ha-ha." I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to go on a double-date with me? I'm doing a friend a favor, and I have no one else to go with." I considered Paulina, who was infatuated with my ghost form, but I'd given up on her a long time ago. "That I actually would want to go with," I rephrased.

Lizzy thought for a second. "When is it?"

"Monday, seven-o-clock, down there." I pointed to the fast-food restaurant below us.

She shrugged. "Fine."

"Really? Wait, why?"

Lizzy punched me in the arm again, this time much softer than the last. "You're still cute. And it gets kind of boring, hunting down evil all day. So why not?"

I smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot. I'll be back in an hour for patrol."

Lizzy smiled back and waved as I flew away.

Yes! I got my driver's license, I wasn't going to disappoint Tucker, and I had another date with Sam not two days from then. I was on a roll.

I smiled as drifted back into my house and hoped that things would always be this good.

But anything staying good in my life would be untraditional.

So, yeah, of course the Universe would decide that my life couldn't stay as good as it was.

Gah. I hate the Universe. Or at least my luck.

**So, sorry about the very late update. I'm kind of having a Sym-Bionic Titan phase, and I'm deciding to actually do what I need to (scary, I know; what ever happened to my laziness?!). So I'm writing more Sym-Bionic Titan stuff and having less time for my DP fanfictions because I'm deciding to be responsible and do my chores. I might set up a weekly update schedule if I stay like this. I don't know.**

**So anyway, now Danny not only has a date with Sam, but now he has one with Lizzy, as well. :D**

**Wonder how Tucker's date will react when she sees Danny with the beautiful, seemingly perfect Lizzy. Will she fall for Tucker instead, or will she pout throughout the entire thing? You may only find out in the next Chaptah! :D**

**Please review! Thankya! **

**Tucker: Yay! My girlfriend is coming!**

**Danny: *facepalm* I don't even want to say it anymore.**

**Sam: I'll say it for you. She's crazy.**

**Me: Oh, whatever, you guys. I am not.**

**Ilana: Yeah! She's not!**

**Korra: You're all just wusses. I approve of her methods. They're very amusing and violent.**

**Lance: Ilana, the spirit-boy's right. Come on. We're getting you out of here.**

**Octus: According to my sensors, her mind is just as sane as anyone else's. She just has a lot of imagination, as is normal for a young girl to have.**

**Aang: I don't know, guys. She seems pretty cool to me.**

**Katara: Yeah. A little bit weird, but she's a nice girl.**

**Ilana: Thank you! Lance, listen to them!**

**Lance: *shakes head* I don't care what Octus's information says about her. I'll bet she's Mutraddi. **

**Ilana: Lance, you think EVERYONE is Mutraddi.**

**Me: What the fish are you all doing here?! This is a Danny Phantom fanfiction! Go back to your shows! But thanks anyway for the support. And Lance, stick your head in a bucket of water. I'd listen to Ilana. She's a princess. She knows what she's talking about.**

**Ilana: *smiling smugly* Why, thank you.**

**Lance: *groans* And now she'll listen to me even less. Thanks for that.**

**Me: You're welcome, Ilana. NOW GO BACK TO YOUR SHOWS! LANCE, GO BACK TO YOUR EMO CORNER AND DO INCREDIBLY HOT EXERCISES! ILANA, GO BE AN OVER-CONCERNED, ADORABLE PRISS! OCTUS, GO MAKE OUT WITH KIMMY! AANG AND KATARA, FIGHT SOME FIAHBENDAHS! KORRA, KICK AMON'S ARSE! AND DANNY, TUCKER, AND SAM, PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE NEXT FANFICTION CHAPTAH!**

**BATTLESTATIONS, EVERYONE, BATTLESTATIONS!**


	4. And So it Begins

**SUPAH SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING SOONAH! I honestly have no idea what happened. Wait, yes I do. I started watching Shugo Chara (this hilarious and adorable anime), and I had absolutely no inspiration for this chaptah. And no motivation to find inspiration for this chaptah. **

**So. Firstly: freaking disclaimer.**

**I don't. Own. Danny. Phantom.**

**Did you hear that, Danny?**

**Danny: Yes, I did, and I'm not falling for that again. -_-**

**Smart boy.**

**Secondly.**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR SO MANY REVIEWS! :'D **

**I love you guys. **

**Now. **

**CHAPTAH 4!**

I tried not to squeal like a little girl when the zombies came out. I'd seen zombies before, but these were by far the scariest that I'd ever seen. Their faces were worse than messed up; there was a sickening sound every time that they moved.

Sam caught the expression on my face and tried not to laugh. My face turned bright pink. No need to squeal after all; apparently, my terror was scrawled all over my face. How wonderful.

"You're scared," she said in a low voice. It wasn't a question, which made my face burn even more.

I grunted, and stared courageously back at the screen, fighting a shudder when the zombies came out again. Nope. I was the guy on this date. There was no way that Sam was going to show me up.

Sam chuckled softly and rested her head on my shoulder, catching me by surprise. I looked at her; she was smiling while watching the movie (which made no sense, because the hero was dying).

I pretended to stretch, and then rested my arm across her shoulders.

Sam laughed. "Cheesy," she muttered, but she kept her head on my shoulder.

Okay. It wasn't as sneaky as I'd thought it was.

When the movie finished, Sam and I held hands on our way to the Fenton RV, which wasn't my dream car, but was at least a car.

As we drove to Sam's pick up spot (which was the bus stop; she said that she hated her house and insisted that she didn't want me to see it), Sam asked, "So is this going to be a regular thing, or what?"

"Huh?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm asking if we're going to do this normally."

"Oh." I considered it, and then smiled, keeping my eyes on the road. "Yeah. Of course. That'd be awesome."

"It would," she agreed. We were silent again until she said, "In that case, you probably should meet my dad."

"Your dad?"

"Yeah. He says that I'm allowed to date and all, but he's so freaking paranoid. He disapproves of every guy that I talk to outside of the family."

"Even me?"

"Especially you, since you're the guy that I'm currently dating."

"Have I met him before?"

"I doubt it."

"Huh. When's a good time?"

After a long period of silence, I momentarily took my eyes off of the road to glance at Sam, who was tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Do you mind if we go out a little bit more? I don't want you to meet him and then be banned from my life for the rest of eternity when we've only had two dates."

"Yeah, that's cool," I said, nodding. "I don't really feel like being banned for eternity right now."

Sam laughed. "That's good. I was hoping you'd stay for a while."

I smiled at this and stole another glance at her. Her face had turned pink, and she was smiling, too, looking out of the window.

"You're cute when you blush."

Her face deepened its shade of pink as I turned back to the road.

"I what?"

"You're cute when you blush," I repeated.

"Oh."

We were silent until I spotted the bus stop; I pulled over and got out to open her door. By the time that I got there, however, she was already out.

I walked her to the stop and then asked, "So what's planned for next Saturday?"

Sam grimaced. "Actually, Saturday's booked. Friday?"

"Okay, then, Friday. What do you want to do?"

Sam thought for a moment, and then said, "Dinner."

"Where?"

"Nasty Burger, and then the arcade."

I asked, "You like video games?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Yes. I am a girl and I like video games. Problem?"

"No, not at all," I said, raising my hands in innocence. "Just surprising. But sure thing. I'll pick you up."

Sam grinned and stood on her toes to hug me. "Okay. I'll see you then, Danny."

I kissed her cheek and replied, "See you then, Sam."

With that, she jogged away, her heavy combat boots clunking along.

I smiled and hopped back into the Fenton RV- excuse me, the Fenton _Assault_ _Vehicle-_ and drove home.

***\ * /***

That Monday after school, I decided to meet up with Lizzy before the date. I roamed around town and found her diving and swooping through the skies near Casper High.

"Hey!" I shouted. She hovered, her huge wings beating slowly against the air.

"Hey! You ready?" She asked. For once, she wasn't assaulting me. It was kind of nice.

I nodded and flew up to her, noticing her huge golden scythe again. It actually kind of made me jealous; I didn't remember ever using a weapon that cool.

Speaking of which, "Where did you get that scythe, anyway?"

Lizzy shrugged. "I've always had it. I just didn't use it that much because there were a bunch of sissy ghosts around here." She glanced at me and added, "You included."

I gave her a deadpan stare before turning and flying away. I didn't come to be insulted.

And then pain, at the back of my head.

"Ow! Stop doing that!"

"That's how I apologize," Lizzy said with an innocent shrug.

"What makes you think that that's going to make me forgive you?!"

Lizzy smiled sweetly. "No one can stay mad at this face."

I scowled some more, but only because it was true. Even while covered with a mask (and a smirk), Lizzy's face was honestly too innocent-looking to really glare at for too long. It makes no sense. I know.

I stuck my tongue out at her and then flew away, towards the Nasty Burger, expecting her to catch up.

To my huge surprise, she did. Sorry. Let me rephrase that. She did catch up. And to my huge surprise, she held my hand.

I yanked my hand away, putting both up in a karate-chop pose, my expression suspicious. "What are you doing?"

Lizzy rolled her eyes and laughed, grabbing my hand again. "You're such a dork. I'm holding your hand, doofus."

"Why?"

"We're going on a date, are we not?"

"Um, yeah."

"I rest my case." With that, Lizzy kept holding my hand, and we flew towards the Nasty Burger. I turned us both intangible as we rested in the booth where Sam had sat with Tucker and I. Not surprisingly, Tucker and his date weren't there yet. We had three hours to spare.

"Why are we here so early?" Lizzy asked.

I shrugged. "Do you have something better to do?"

"Not really," she admitted. Then she asked, "Do I, uh, need to dress like a normal person?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because pretty much everyone here is staring at us." I looked around; Lizzy was right. I'd forgotten about the whole "I'm a ghost" thing. Whoops.

"Uh, yeah. You can, um, do that." Lizzy then ran out of the restaurant. I flew out and sped over to my house, where I looked in my closet for something not so obviously Phantom or Fenton.

I could pass as a weird kid with white hair and unusually bright green eyes, if I wanted to. My only problem was that my entire closet was full of the same clothes: white and red NASA T-shirts and blue jeans.

Except.

There was this one black button down that I'd gotten for my grandma's funeral, just because I'd left my suit back here while we went all the way down to Kansas to mourn.

I grinned and found it, happier than I'd ever been to find a shirt that I hadn't worn since the incident in which it was bought.

I unzipped my jumpsuit and carefully placed it in the back of my closet for when I returned, pulling on the shirt, a pair of jeans, and my ratty white basketball shoes that I usually wore during gym.

I inspected my reflection in the mirror. Honestly, I didn't look half bad, although I looked like a totally different person.

With that, I turned invisible and flew over to the Nasty Burger, sitting at a table this time. Less people stared, thank God.

Lizzy entered seconds after me, her wings now somehow gone, and her mask gone, as well. She wore a tan brown leather aviator's jacket, a plain white V-neck T-shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, and laced up cowboy boots that matched her jacket.

Honestly? She looked hot.

She sat down where I was and widened her eyes at me, punching me in the shoulder. It was just as hard as the last time; I popped my shoulder back in place.

"I take it that means you like my outfit?" I said, glaring at her again.

Wow. Without her mask...she was breathtaking. My glare dissolved.

Lizzy grinned and nodded. "You're even cuter without the superhero getup."

"I could say the same for you."

We were silent again, until Lizzy asked, "So, uh, how old were you when you died?"

I said the same thing that I told everyone else who asked. "Fourteen."

"You don't look fourteen."

"Ghosts age, too, apparently," I partly lied. Some did. It depended on how much of their unfinished business on Earth they got done. The more that was resolved from their life, the older they appeared as a ghost.

I, on the other hand, aged because I was only half-ghost. I kind of felt sorry for those that died as adults, and then their unfinished business became even more unfinished. They had to go through puberty _twice_.

"Weird," Lizzy said.

"So how old were you when you died?" I asked. "Or are you one of those angels that were never born, just stayed in Heaven all of the time?" That was how it worked, wasn't it?

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "I told you. I'm not from Heaven. And I haven't died. I'm sixteen. I was born like this."

"Born….a supernatural being? What are you, an alien?"

"No. Just a freak of nature."

"A _pretty_ freak of nature," I revised for her.

Lizzy smiled and punched me in the arm again, this time not as hard. "Thanks. To return your compliment, you happen to be the cutest dead person that I know."

"Do you know a lot?"

"Actually, more than you'd think."

We were silent again, until Tucker came in, along with a girl I'd never met before. I mean, I'd seen her around school, but we were pretty much strangers.

"Hey," Tuck said to me. He glanced at Lizzy, and his eyes practically bulged out of his head. "Um, wh-who are you?"

Lizzy's eyes grew wide at the sight of Tucker, too, but she shook her head, and her expression went back to normal. Did she know him?

"Uh, Lizzy Angel," she said. "Who are you?"

"Danny's friend. Tucker Foley."

Tucker's date, who was a cute girl with shoulder-length, tawny brown hair, a freckled face, and blue eyes, waved at me. "Hi. You're Danny Phantom, right?"

I nodded. "Hi, there."

She grinned. "I'm Phoebe Rodgers."

"Cool. Phoebe, this is my date, Lizzy Angel."

Phoebe frowned at the word _date_, but she shrugged it off and sat down across from us, sitting next to Tucker.

"So you guys are early," I said.

Tuck nodded. "I figured you'd be here early; I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Danny didn't mention that he had mortal friends," Lizzy remarked, still surprised.

Phoebe noted, "You say 'mortal' as if you aren't."

"I'm not," Lizzy said.

"Oh, yeah. Guys, Lizzy just so happens to be a supernatural being with wings," I explained.

"Wings?" Tucker stared in disbelief. "Where?"

"They're tucked in. I can fold them as tightly as I want." Lizzy removed her jacket (revealing that her shirt was actually a cut-off shirt) and closed her eyes. The very tip of one of her wings extended, peaking from her shirt collar.

"Whoa," Phoebe and Tucker gasped at the same time.

Lizzy tucked her wing back in and replaced her jacket onto her shoulders.

"She has a superhero getup, too, but when we came in here dressed like that, everyone stared," I said.

"So that explains the lack of a jumpsuit," Tucker said, nodding in understanding. "Makes sense." He glanced at the line at the counter; there weren't that many people there. "I'll get our orders."

So he got up, leaving me with two girls: one that was totally into me and wasn't supposed to be, and the other that might've been into me, but it was hard to tell because she enjoyed my pain so much.

This was going to be one interesting double-date.

**Sorry about the horribly misshapen and horribly written chapter; I'm tired, but I refuse to go to sleep until at least one of my stories are updated. So here. You're welcome. **


End file.
